Nato’s bombing campaign in Libya, now in its seventh month, will continue despite the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, alliance officials said today.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said the air strikes will not stop until all remaining pockets of resistance are suppressed and the new government asks for them to end.

Although the former rebels now control most of Libya, some regions remain under control of pro-Gaddafi forces. These include Sirte on the Mediterranean coast, the city of Bani Walid and parts of the south.

“Sirte has an extremely symbolic value, but it’s not all of Libya,” Mr Longuet said as he arrived for the second and final day of a Brussels conference of defence ministers of Nato nations.

“There is pro-Gaddafi resistance in Bani Walid and dispersed resistance in the south of the country.”